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Month: February 2014

Each generation has had an issue that plagued their thoughts, dreams, and aspirations. For our grandparents, it was managing a Post WWII world. For our parents, it was dealing with drug abuse and the now invisible color lines. What could possibly plague our generation more than the broken system that we inherited? The financial crater left by pursuing the one thing that marketed guaranteed success: a college education.

An estimated 7 out of 10 graduating seniors in 2012 walked into the “real world” with an average of $29,400 of student loan debt. According to this Huffington Post article, the burden can lead to a loss of license in some states and most importantly prevents many young people from qualifying for home loans, personal loans, small business loans, and car loans: the bread and butter of the American economy. If you don’t really understand how it all works check out this infographic that breaks it down.

Whether or not you or your child are dealing with this type of debt, it has market wide effects. Think about it, with significant portions of 30 million salaries going to feed a collective financial crater, who is going to be purchasing the high priced credit based goods that serve as the metric for a healthy American economy? How can you breed healthy work habits when personal finance is always going to be a significant anxiety?

There are hundreds of suggestions on how to cope with the pressure of dealing with student loan debt, and it deserves serious attention and planning. But once in this crater, why not wear the burden as a badge of courage? Presumably, students don’t take out loans unless they need them in order to get to where they want to go in their careers. As it is in life, taking that kind of risk has forced many in this group to make sacrifices and choices in order to survive. It will be lessons we’ve learned from those choices that will mold the next Great Generation.

Lessons in dedication, perseverance, resourcefulness, and long term thinking will only serve us in in the long run. Our generation has already claimed the superlative “most entrepreneurial” and “most diverse” in U.S. history, once we have claimed positions of power these lessons will only make stronger leaders and truly change the direction of the world.

Have student loans impacted your life planning and decision making? If so, how?